Author Note: Thanks goes to Levesque-Rollins823 and Pinayprincesa for the wonderful reviews. Thanks also goes to blah96 and Jenn122 for becoming followers to this story.

Chapter 6: Distant Messages

Savannah

I sat up from the pillow and rested my head in my hands. My brain hurt and throbbed repeatedly against my skull. Drinking shots was obviously a terrible idea. I still remembered everything that happened, including Seth's appearance and the fact that it was him that took me back to the hotel room. I could still smell him on my clothes.

Memories of the night before played inside my mind on rewind. The confrontation between him and Roman could have easily gotten ugly fairly quickly; but what I didn't understand was Roman accusation. Did Roman know something that I didn't? Or was he just drunk and making things up? My curiosity was eating away at me; but I was afraid to bring it up to him, for fear he'd laugh at me for asking.

"You up Savannah!" Becky called from outside the door.

"Yeah!" I yelled back rolling my eyes in the process.

How the hell was she still so perky after throwing a party like she did? I never understood where her energy came from. I walked across the room to open the door. Becky half waved before she stepped passed me. I knew that look on her face. It was disappointment and I felt a lecture coming on, which was only going to make my headache worse.

"I'm only going to ask one question." She said siting down on the edge of the unmade bed.

"Somehow I doubt that it'll just be one." I responded moving sluggishly over to my bag for a change of clothes.

"I just want to know why. Why talk to him again after what he did?"

Her question was a logical one and I really didn't have an answer that she'd want to hear. Things were so very different now. Roman no longer wanted to be with me; but still claimed to care about me. Seth apologized for walking out on our friendship and was willing to make it up to me. My boss' no longer gave a damn if I was happy or not. "I don't trust him; but he did apologize for walking out on me. He wants to make it up to me and believe me Becky...I've missed him."

"Sav...I just don't want to see you get hurt again. You've been through enough."

"Roman destroyed my heart...I seriously doubt that I could fall for someone else. He just...just takes the pain away."

Becky looked at me like she had seen a ghost. I probably worried her even more with the answers I've given. Turning away from her, I slipped into the bathroom. A hot shower was something I needed desperately. I moved the knobs in the direction of the right temperature and waited a few minutes before stepping under the spray.

The pounding of the water against my skin felt amazing. Seth's face flashed before my eyes, jolting me awake and before I knew it the image was gone. Telling Becky that I missed him was the understatement of the year. I hate feeling so confused about my life. Roman had taken over a large portion of it and in the blink of an eye, it was all gone. In a matter of days, Seth had already made me smile and made the butterflies flutter in my stomach.

"Savannah..."

"Yeah..."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be so harsh about this. It's your life."

"No, it's fine. I expected this kind of reaction from you guys. That's why I wanted to keep it a secret a little longer...just until I knew for sure that he was being truthful with me."

Becky remained quiet for a few minutes before expressing that she jumped the gun a little without actually listening to my side. Yes, Seth hurt me by walking away. Yes, he had been right all along about Roman. No, to the fact that I trusted him. Trust was something earned and he hasn't gotten there yet. "I will try to be as supportive as possible." She commented, hearing her sit down on the counter next to the sink.

"I appreciate that. Maybe you should tell that to Sasha as well."

"I could try; but you know how she is. She only listens to things when she wants to."

That was so very true. Sasha was completely stubborn; but I wouldn't have her any other way. She was a loyal friend that I loved dearly. Finishing up with my shower, I noticed Becky had taken her leave of the bathroom. Quickly getting dressed, my headache was started to go away and I was thankful for that. It gave me time to think about how I would ask Seth about what Roman had said at the party. Of course, I couldn't come up with anything that didn't sound stupid.

Walking out of the room, Becky was lounging in the oversized chair with her legs handing off the side. "Comfy?" I asked half laughing.

"Not really."

Reaching for my phone off the nightstand, I noticed that I had several messages waiting for my attention. They were gonna have to wait until we got on the road. Tucking the item into the front pocket of my capris, I shoved my discarded clothes into my travel bag and zipped it up. I lifted the handle and sat it down onto the floor. "Ready?" I asked.

"Yup."

We walked out of the room and proceeded towards the elevator. Once in the lobby, I left my key to my room with the attendant and the keys to my rental. We were going to save money by just using Becky's rental for the trip to Atlanta. Graciously, it wasn't going to be a horribly long trip. Putting all my bags into the trunk, I shifted towards the passenger seat. "Do you want to drive?" Becky asked.

"I'll drive later. I want to get rid of this headache completely first."

She actually laughed at me, which was fine with me because I wasn't entirely honest with my answer. I was just curious about my waiting text messages. The hope that at least one of them would be from Seth, was crawling to the surface. I waiting until we were on the road to pull my phone out. Opening the message icon, I could see Seth's name at the bottom of the list and Roman's at the top. Groaning out loud in response to seeing his name, Becky turned her head a second to look at me. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Roman texted me."

"What did he say? It better be a freaking apology."

In a sense it was an apology. "I'm sorry about my outburst last night. You didn't need to see that. Seth isn't someone to trust...you found that out that hard way last time." He wrote, which instantly annoyed me. What part of him not telling me who I can and can't talk to did he not get? He breaks up with me and still thinks my actions effect him. What the hell was wrong with this image? A lot!

I simply deleted the message, not wanting to cause an argument. I'm sure he'd track me down at the arena in Atlanta to piss me off further anyway. I read the other ones before getting to the one I wanted to see the most. "Morning. How are you feeling? Safe trip today, okay..."

"Savannah...what's up? What did he say?" Becky asked again.

"Just a lame apology and how Seth isn't to be trusted." I answered back hiding my happiness in the other message I had gotten.

"Wish he'd mind his own business."

I couldn't have agreed more. My fingers moved across the screen to type an answer; but rereading it, I hesitated and deleted the whole thing to start all over again. I didn't want to sound over joyous, nor did I want to sound stupid. I didn't understand why this had to be so complicated. "I feel okay for the most part. Becky is driving...I'm as safe as I can be." I answered back suddenly feeling pretty lame.

Slouching down in my seat, I pulled my knees up. Becky took a glance or two in my direction, probably trying to figure out what my problem was. It didn't take long for the answer to come back and vibrated my phone against the material of my capris. "That's good. I meant to tell you how amazing you looked last night."

Oh boy...that was the last thing I'd expect him to tell me. I mean, he used to tell me things like that before in the past; but they were always in a friendship way. Somehow, this felt different to me. Like it meant something else for him than that. The warm air blew through the open window, tossing my hair around and into my eyes. My heart was pounding. All over a tiny text message. What the hell was wrong with me?

"Judging from the look on your face, Seth must be talking to you." Becky commented.

"Yeah...and I...I don't know how to answer this." I replied honestly, because that really was the truth.

"Just tell him exactly what your thinking. Honesty goes a long way, Savannah. It's a shame a lot of people never learn that."

Thinking about what she said, I decided to do as she advised. I loved Becky, her advice was some of the best I've ever gotten and we've only been friends for a couple years. It was good to know that she had my back no matter what happened around me. "Thank you. I wanted to ask about last night. What did Roman mean?"

Seth

Sitting my car, ready to head for the performance center to start my in ring training. Savannah's answer came in quickly enough; but her question caught me off guard and I had been hoping that she didn't hear what he said. How could I tell her the truth when I couldn't even tell her in the past? Instead, I came up with a believable white lie. Nothing major. I just didn't think she was ready to hear the truth, nor was I ready to express it. I enjoyed how things were going now and didn't want to ruin it...again.

"I have no idea. I think he was drunk."

As the message sent, I mentally cursed myself for even doing so. I was already lying to her and it didn't sit well with me. The woman was already firmly placed in my veins and if I was honest with myself, I don't think she ever left. Running a hand over the top of my head, my phone beeped again. "I wasn't sure if it was him just being a dick or something else. I'm sorry for asking."

Great, now I upset her. This texting thing wasn't getting us anywhere and the words could be taken in so many different directions. The only thing I wanted in that moment was to see her face to face; but with me still on the injured shelf, there was nothing else I could do. She was always going to be on the road until she wasn't needed; which, according to her, was all the time. "Don't be sorry. You can ask me anything. I just wish it was easier to talk to you so these messages don't get into the wrong context."

"You're right. Come to Atlanta..."

In that moment, I was completely dumbfounded by her response. She had been bold and if I was right, she was speaking from the heart. We were on the same wavelength and that was something to be grateful for, especially if I wanted things to be different this time around. I only wished that I could have seen her face the second she sent that message. Was she blushing? Was her heart pounding like mine was?

My decision had been made the moment my eyes read those words. I was going to be going to Atlanta. Quickly setting the GPS, I pulled out of the parking lot and out onto the freeway. I figured that I wouldn't answer her back, me showing up was surprise enough. Now all I had to do was hold my emotions back and not kiss her the second I lay eyes on her. I doubt that she'd appreciate that too much. A smile curved my lips upward, driving down the long crowded highway with music blaring. My only thoughts were of Savannah and her perfect smile that drove me absolutely crazy.

"God Savannah, what have you done to me?" I asked myself in a whisper.